Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton hit the after-party for Ruth and Alex

The fervent energy of TIFF-goers is never more obvious than in the rabid pursuit of an autograph. Yesterday night, we saw makeshift paparazzos full-blown sprinting down Simcoe Street to get Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton to put pen to paper (or, in the case of one fan, DVD) prior to the Moët & Chandon sponsored after-party for their film Ruth and Alex, which took place at swank steakhouse Michael’s on Simcoe. Freeman is a man who commands respect: one hostess curtsied for him, while another made sure his drink of choice—a three olive martini—was in hand the second he walked in the door. Keaton, for her part, sipped from an enormous golden Moët & Chandon chalice. (Water? Champagne? We can’t be certain.) Both wore a uniform of sorts—Keaton in her signature tailored pantsuit paired with an oversized hat, and Freeman in a classic gray suit (with a white compression glove on his left hand—an unhappy souvenir from the 2008 car crash that nearly cost him his life). Nearby, co-star Cynthia Nixon chilled with her son, Charlie Mozes, at a corner table. As we left, the sky began to rumble, which we’re pretty sure had something to do with Freeman (or, at the very least, Bill Murray).